Electrically selectable drive mechanisms are in wide use in electrical or electronic control systems for providing a great variety of timing or selection possibilities for applications among which a selectable automatic merchandise dispensing from a storage is the most common and demanding one. The most widely used and practical storing method is the shelf or drawer arrangement which is usable as an open shelf storage in warehouses or stores for different merchandise container shapes or it is also applicable to closed unattended cabinets for coin controlled merchandisers known as vending machines.
For automatic merchandise machines electrical or mechanical dispenser control means are used to restrict and permit the operation of a single dispenser after a required credit is established in a coin validating unit. Numerous systems and methods are in wide use to satisfy these requirements but in most of them rather costly and complex selection and operating mechanisms in electrical control systems requiring a large number of switching devices, relays, lockdown mechanisms and empty signaling means have to be employed to prevent jackpotting, pilfering or faulty operation.
While the electrical control system could vary to suit various applications, a special importance has to be given to the simplicity and compactness of the coupling mechanism which is normally linked to or it is a part of a dispenser mechanism working close to a storage compartment. Therefore the ideal coupling mechanism has to have compactness and flexibility to fit to available spaces without a sacrifice of storing space or without obstructing the frontal look of a drawer stack if the arrangement is used in a presently popular windowfront vending cabinet, for instance.
An arrangement for mechanically or electrically operated vending machines satisfying the above requirements was disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,991,907 while similar typical samples for control and dispensing methods are illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,174,646, 3,325,049, 3,540,562, 3,653,540, 4,176,762 and 4,192,436.